‘Bioavailability’ is not merely a high sounding jargon but a living reality just as ‘Biopharmaceutics’ is far from being an academic pastime.

These realisations have brought to forefront an important responsibility of the modern pharmacy men. Whenever a new drug is evolved it should be formulated scientifically so that it can be presented as a successful, acceptable and convenient dosage form. The schools of pharmacy have refashioned their curricula to include a course in the design of dosage forms.

The present book owes its origin to lectures that the author delivered to the undergraduate and graduate students on development of the formulae of dosage forms at the Birla Institute of Technology and Science.

A word about the subject matter covered in the book would be in order at this juncture. In deciding upon the material of each chapter the issue uppermost in mind has been that the book as a whole must provide lines of thoughts that must necessarily cross the minds of development men. Hence, no stress has been laid on processing aspects and other similar details have been cut to minimum. In writing the book it has also been assumed that the student has had courses in industrial and dispensing pharmacy, pharmaceutical analysis etc. besides courses in basic sciences like physics, chemistry and biology.

The design of dosage forms has to adjust meaningfully to these changes. The present edition has tried to incorporate some of the futuristic dosage forms in addition to the basic dosage forms which will always remain valid. The book takes care of changing forms of var¬ious drug delivery systems which are being planned to make their action more precise and targeted.